Photography by Kristin Vicari

Ever intrigued with the female body and diverse sources of beauty, London-based Hermione de Paula aptly named her Spring/Summer 2010 collection Las Venus: An Unconscious Elegance. It’s a departure from her darker debut collection (S/S 2009), for which she drew inspiration from Elizabeth Berkley’s character in Showgirls, but it’s an equally masterful and equally fun collection. For Spring 2010, de Paula outfitted her models with dense floral designs in staid palettes. Still body-conscious, but more ethereal, this collection balances the delicacy that spring demands with the playfulness of de Paula’s own laser-cut crowns and high hemlines. From intricate, trompe-l’oeil-printed leggings, dresses, and bodysuits, to simply-draped silk jersey fabrics and delicate cuts, these pieces are both wearable and artistic. De Paula’s modern Venus is beautiful but impish. Drawing on the symbolism of the Anatomical Venus and tabloid-fodder starlets, de Paula calls the aesthetic “a celebrity autopsy of sorts.” The new collection will be stocked exclusively in London at Browns Focus, and in Rome at Le Fate Ignoranti.  The 2006 Central Saint Martins grad has also worked with Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Christian Dior Couture, and Diane Von Furstenberg.

View of the Dysfashional exposition, Luxembourg 2007. Photography courtesy of André Morin.

One could hardly be blamed for expecting to see a few garments at an art exhibit purportedly about style, but you won’t find a single couture-swathed mannequin at Dyfashional, the daring new project that’s causing fashionistas — even after the conclusion of their busiest season — to board one final airplane in the name of global fashion.  Rather than present the clothing and trends typical of a fashion-oriented showcase, Dysfashional fancies itself an expansive investigation into the materials and mechanisms that inform style as a vehicle of self-expression. After two wildly successful tours — the first in Luxembourg to celebrate the European Capital of Culture in 2007, and the second at Mudac, Musée du Design et des Arts Appliqués Contemporains de Lausanne in 2008 — the exhibit will show its new and improved edition on October 30th at Paris’ Passage du Désir.
     “Dyfashional was conceived as a site where the exhibition space becomes an experimentation space, an exploration ground for both the artists and visitors,” says curator Luca Marchetti. “As a fashion exhibition which does not exhibit clothing, Dysfashional shows that fashion is, beyond the objects that materialize it, an unstable state of sensibility.”

In the immortal words of Albert Einstein, “in order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.” We’re not too keen on blindly assembling into anybody’s fashion flock, but in the case of the North Circular Knitwear Company, the English woolies brand “knit by grannies and supported by supermodels,” we could be persuaded to wear a bit of sheep, if not become one ourselves.
     At the end of October, North Circular will launch a collection of handmade knits fashioned entirely of rescued Wensleydale wool, available on a made-to-order basis via their website, where not only can you meet the handsome Wensleydale flock, but select the color, size and style of your lovingly woven garment. The Wensleydale sheep — along with the entire British wool industry — have fallen on hard times as of late, and brand founders Lily Cole, Katherine Poulton, Alice Ashby, and Isobel Davies made the downtrodden breed’s improved well-being the main concern of their stylish business venture.

Too often a promising new CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist will buckle under the pressure that the distinction begets and produce a disappointing post-win collection. It’s the Britney Spears Condition played out at Bryant Park — too much praise, too little guidance. Happily, for every ten let downs there’s one remarkable triumph — on September 12, the young label Ohne Titel proved they were well equipped to meet the industry’s demands with a spectacularly confident collection that bellied their years. Like so many of fashion’s most powerful duos (think Marc Jacobs and business genius Robert Duffy), Flora Gill and Alexa Adams met at Parsons in 1999, where they bonded over a shared love of geometric design influences and architectural garment construction. After cutting their teeth under the tutelage of reborn cult-favorite Helmut Lang, and universal crowd pleaser Kaiser Karl, the girls reunited in 2006 to cofound a label dedicated to “intelligent design for a strong and modern woman.”
     Their Spring 2010 collection, which, according to the show notes, took “the graphic lines, lush textures, and bold colors in Egyptian reliefs and sculptures” as inspiration, allowed Gill and Adams to perfect their signature body-con technique within the limits of more intellectual — not to mention more difficult — design parameters.

Photography by Sari Wynne for Lauren Kovin

It was only a week or so ago that Alexander McQueen, one of fashion’s most beloved enfant terribles, launched his spring/summer 2010 collection at London Fashion Week with a simultaneous “virtual runway” presentation over the Internet, offering what would appear to be a fully democratizing experience where the front-row illuminati of the industry were no closer or further away from the action than the 16-year-old fangirl taking in the designs from her bedroom computer. Keen editorials noted it as a step forward. Even keener ones noted that McQueen may actually be behind the times, that the Internet, social networking, and fast video transfer speeds have already brought us to a point where buyers, customers, creatives, and, yes, 16-year-old girls are finding new looks and designers as fast as (or sometimes faster than) top editors. In this new world of networked fashion, video has become key and designers such as Viktor & Rolf and Marc Jacobs, as well as labels low and high have put a great amount of time and money into creating immersive visual experiences that will at once showcase the clothes, capture the attention, and convey the aesthetic behind the cloth. Problem is, in comparison to the world of music videos, movies, and commercials, most “video lookbooks” are gauzy, languid things that manage to be both beautiful and sleep inducing. Lauren Kovin, however, has managed to put together a spring/summer 2010 video lookbook with a razor-sharp edge to match her crafty, clever work.

Limi Feu’s Autumn/Winter 2009-2010 collection solidifies the label’s position as an icon for the everywoman: cerebral design of definition and refinement rather than flair and innovation. Limi Yamamoto (yes, daughter of Yohji) launched her line in Tokyo in 2000, and debuted in Paris with the Spring 2008 collections. Her last Paris runway show revealed forty-one characteristic looks, less punky than some past seasons. This season is a bit cleaner: the almost-Dickensian looks avoid provocation and instead teem with class. Yamamoto steers the monochromatic palette away from severity by incorporating the relaxed fits of blousy pants, asymmetrical hems, and slightly oversized – but never sloppy — white collared shirts, vests, and outerwear.  Yamamoto interprets women-doing-menswear in a way that’s more elegant-sophisticate than sterile power suit. The easy layers and drapery of knitwear in some looks suggest the energy and activity of a woman — even when oversized, pieces retain functionality. Other looks effuse 1920s American elegance. A few looks even boasted bolts of color, like furry fuchsia and yellow tights, or a harlequin print, while still looking polished. Yamamoto says she crafts her savvy tailoring with Japanese women in mind, and her runway models are typically from Tokyo. She summarizes her distinction from her father’s designs simply: “He is a man, and I am a woman.” 

It was a drizzly day late in a New York summer that almost never was when Samantha Pleet unveiled her spring 2010 collection at the Soho Grand this Fashion Week. So drizzly in fact, that the intended outdoor presentation by the young, Brooklyn-based designer was moved to the moody confines of the hotel’s dining room where the lightly dressed models and the rest of the attendees found shelter. No matter — once the waitresses plopped a couple of strawberries in the free Champagne and the clothes were revealed, it was early spring all over again.
     Pleet, who creates her designs with her partner and husband Patrick, has already become notorious and beloved for her particular facility with that controversial piece of womenswear — the romper. It’s a positive, sexy, youthful statement in gray times and, to a more cynical follower of fashion, perhaps just a bit too fun. But Pleet is so very good at capturing a bright mood and orchestrating her merry band of models — which this year included friends like like musician Nicole Atkins, artist Carlin Altman, and designer Angela Barrow — she’s gaining popularity even among a
generation of women who often seem wedded to the Alex Wang school of dark, boyish looks and arch, grungy aesthetics. Her work belongs under patches of sunshine, alongside croquet matches, and wherever Champagne comes with a bit of fruit. Right now, we could all use a bit of that.

“Predictable” is hardly a word to ascribe to Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela, but if anyone was going to pull velvet-covered magenta trainers out of his stylish sleeves, it was him. Vetted sneaker aficionados of hip-hop culture and general shoe freaks the world over are guaranteed to scoop these up faster than you can say Colette exclusive — Kanye West already featured them as a must-have on his personal blog, “Kanye Universe-city”.
     Inspired by the 1970’s and specifically Bryan Singer’s film The Usual Suspects, the new kicks represent Margiela’s cheeky take on the classic American athletic shoe — chucks and Vans, in particular — and the bizarre status symbol it has become. Two unisex styles in bright cobalt blue and hot magenta are available in traditional high or low top versions, with upper, midsole, outer sole, and laces entirely cast in supple premium velvet. The irresistible gaudiness is sure to make them a street style favorite in spite of their considerable impracticality on the actual street.